An Expert Shared Important Etiquette Rules To Save You From Embarrassing Situations

Tatiana Polyakova is an expert and she has been reviewing etiquette for more than 20 years.

She tells how to behave exactly at a table, what things you should discuss with people you don’t know, and what topics are strictly prohibited to talk about. And even though Tatiana herself is a true expert in this subject, she thinks that some rules can be broken. It’s just a matter of knowing which rules are okay to break and which ones are set in stone.

We share Tatiana Polyakova’s most useful pieces of advice.

How to behave at a table in a restaurant

• Don’t put your mobile phone or your laptop on the table.point 190 |
• Sit on 3/4 of the chair and keep your knees together as if they were buttoned up.point 255 |

• A lady’s bag should be on the chair next to her or behind her back.point 55 | Never leave the bag on the floor.point 82 | First, because it’s not safe for your valuables, and second, a server may trip over it.point 156 |
• Phrases like, “I’m trying to lose weight,” or “Is this gluten-free bread?” are prohibited.point 243 |

  Subjects such as health (along with politics and religion) should never be discussed.point 73 | People don’t need to know the details of your digestion.point 122 |

• During lunchtime, napkins should be opened only halfway on your lap and at more important events, the knees should be covered completely.point 238 |

• During a business lunch, you may start talking about a business only once the order is made.point 186 |
• If you see a bug or a worm on your plate, don’t scream or call for help.point 244 |

  Just quietly tell the server about the issue.point 38 | This is a delicate matter, so there’s no need to make it public.point 92 |

• If you need to leave for a moment, don’t say you’re going to the restroom to check your hair or to make a call.point 184 | Simply say, “Excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back.point 234 |

  ” This is your way of telling everyone that you are not leaving for good.point 61 | You can also use napkins to specify this: a napkin hanging on the back of the chair means you’ll be back, and if the napkin is on the seat — you’re leaving.point 192 |

• Many attractive women say they don’t have to leave tips.point 241 |

  However, tips are necessary no matter what.point 37 | Just consider tips to be something that must be paid.point 81 |

How to serve the tablepoint 99 | 1

• Restaurants should have the silverware from the same set but if you’re making dinner at home, different sets will do.point 309 |

• It’s also good manners to serve a plate with bread and a special separate knife for butter.point 77 |
• When serving a table at home, try to make sure that the middle of the plate is in line with the middle of the fork or knife.point 175 | This way, everything will look even neater.point 212 |

• According to serving rules, the place settings should be at a 2-finger distance from the edge of the table.point 89 |

How to eatpoint 97 | 1

• When we take a fork or a knife from the table, it should never return to the table.point 163 | Forks, spoons, and knives should stay on the plate.point 206 |

• Don’t act like a monkey and bite off pieces of bread.point 45 | Break off a small piece of bread you can eat and put butter on.point 95 |
• Cream soups should be placed in the mouth with the edge of the spoon and soups with pieces of food in it should go straight into the mouth.point 207 |

  Also, remember not to put the soup onto the spoon “rowing” it toward yourself.point 69 | You should move the spoon away from your face.point 107 |

How to drink alcoholpoint 234 | 1

• Remember that people often forget your name but they remember the drink you chose.point 69 |
• Think through the alcohol menu in advance: consider the drinks and foods that can be mixed and the ones that can’t (for example, wine with wine is okay).point 197 |
• Try different drinks to make your opinion and understand what you like and what you don’t.point 274 |

  In different restaurants and different cities, the same drink can be made differently and give you completely different feelings.point 111 |

• If you invite a lot of people to dinner, there’s a huge chance you won’t surprise them with your cooking.point 201 |

  Because of this, offer your guests drinks that they don’t regularly taste.point 65 |

• Knowing wines and the names of the different types of glasses is important.point 128 | This is a way to present yourself.point 156 | Your clothes and your shoes don’t present any interest to others when there’s something more interesting to talk about.point 261 |

• Hold a glass of champagne by its stem, pressing the little finger against the bottom of the glass.point 191 |
• A woman can open a bottle of champagne on her own if she is the host of the house.point 255 |

  She should be able to do it.point 22 |

• Always leave about 10% of a drink at the bottom of the glass.point 71 | This is how you will show everyone that you don’t have an addiction and you were just enjoying the taste of the drink.point 169 |
• When drinking, look into other people’s eyes.point 210 |

  This is good manners.point 18 |

• Drinking before the actual dinner is a sign of attention.point 66 | So you can’t say something like, “I don’t drink,” or “I’m driving”.point 136 |
• The quality of a restaurant can be determined by its wine menu.point 188 | A restaurant owner that truly values their chef won’t choose a bottle of wine you can buy at any supermarket.point 280 |

  Such owners create a good compilation of wines to highlight the taste of the food.point 68 |

Conversation rules for people that don’t know each other wellpoint 122 | 1

• “My husband is a famous lawyer” is a phrase that doesn’t make any sense because if a person is famous, people already know that or will know during the conversation.point 374 |

• “Our child is a champion,” is a personal statement.point 47 | You never know what people around you are going through — there could be a couple that recently lost a child and a statement like this would be painful for them to hear.point 186 |
• If someone gives you compliments on the way you look, don’t rush to explain yourself by saying something like, “Oh, I got this on sale,” or “This is an old jacket!” Just thank the person.point 349 |

There you have it! Hope it helps you in the future!point 41 | 1